Update/Action:
Greg Niewendorp Responds to Forced
Testing and Tagging of His
Cattle
Greg Niewendorp
Responds to Forced Testing and Tagging
of His Cattle
Following is a
statement by Greg Niewendorp on the
forced testing and tagging, by the
Michigan Department of Agriculture on
Monday, October 8, of his carefully
raised and managed herd of heritage
cattle.
East Jordan,
Michigan—Tuesday Oct. 9, 2007,
2:47 a.m.
In reviewing
the events of the last 24 hours,
several thoughts need to be
addressed and considered. The most
pertinent, which I woke up to at
1:00 a.m., is the Mark of the
Beast. The Amish community, in
Michigan and elsewhere, believes the
premises ID to be the Mark of the
Beast. As a result, several
Michigan state senators became
incensed with then Director of
Agriculture Mitch Irwin. The
situation became so heated in
Lansing that the Michigan
Agricultural Commission, heavily
influenced by Farm Bureau
[bureau: from the Latin for
“fluff”], decided to relieve
Irwin and brought in Don Koivisto as
replacement. So we, already, have
taken out a Director of Agriculture
and now we’re going to take out
another one over the same issue,
because Gregory Lee Niewendorp’s God
given divine rights to freedom to
express his spiritual beliefs have
been violated, again.
Do the Amish
have exclusive right to the belief
that the RFID and the premises ID is
the Mark of the Beast?
So now the
question is, do I have my cattle
available for them when they come to
read the results of the caudal fold
skin test on Thursday—by
subjectively feeling for the bump
under the tail? And this is supposed
to be objective science we are
dealing with here. I will be on my
property free-grazing my cattle on
horseback, and they can come and
find me. Do I herd the cattle to
the holding pen that they left on my
property? Do I willingly cooperate?
We’re coming into the end of our
grazing season and I have to free
graze on the unfenced portions of my
property which are brushy woodland.
Government is forcing us to do
business on their terms, where they
are claiming control of our cattle.
They attempted to force me to sign a
compliance statement last February,
which I refused. Is this action
that they have taken a consummation
of the contract of the conveyance of
my property, where I am now a tenant
and they control the property?
What we saw in
the last 24-hours were people who
wanted to break out of our old
system of a culture of individualism
in to a new system where human
politicalness is no longer relegated
to private relationships where it is
distorted into narrow, private,
ego-driven struggles. Private life
is too small a stage for developing
our political capacity. Being
political means being
confrontational. Change only comes
and goes the direction we want if we
demand it. We are not going to
power for a decision, we are going
to power with a decision.
***ACTION***
PLEASE CALL THE MICHIGAN
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
at 517.373.1077 or 1-800-292-3939
AND EXPRESS YOURSELF TO:
Bridget
Patrick, Bovine TB Project
Coordinator, (517) 241-2669, patrickb@michigan.gov
Don
Koivisto, Director of
Agriculture
Steve
Halstead, State Vet
Pat
Lockwood, Liaison to the
Governor’s Office
Non-Compliance Relief Fund:
Taking a stand
of non-compliance puts a tremendous
toll on one’s resources. The
National Organization for Raw
Materials (NORM) established the
Non-Compliance Relief Fund to
provide specific support for those
like Greg NIewendorp who take such a
courageous position. To support
Greg and others like him, please donate
here (single
donation or monthly pledge) or send
a check made out to NORM to:
Non-Compliance
Relief Fund
c/o NORM
680 E 5 Point
Highway
Charlotte, MI
48813
Many thanks,
Deborah
Stockton, Editor
VICFA Voice
The Virginia Independent Consumers
and Farmers Association (VICFA)
Our purpose is to promote and
preserve unregulated direct
farmer-to-consumer trade
that fosters availability of
locally grown or home-produced food
products.
VICFA opposes any government funded
or managed National Animal
Identification System.
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